ADVANTAGE SPORTS
#200 Detroit Lions +3
#219 Pittsburgh Steelers -6
After a division MNF game at home against a physical foe, the Packers now travel off a short week with a few bruises and face a team that looked as bad as any during week one. The correction in the line has GB favored on the road with a new quarterback making his 2nd start and first away from home. The Lions are going to be improved this year, last week's results notwithstanding and I am not certain that Green Bay deserves to be a road favorite here. Green Bay had the good fortune to face a team with a quarterback that was limited in his abilities and against a poor Viking pass defense. The Lions will bring more offensive balance and a Cover Two defensive scheme that will show improvement from last week's disaster in stopping the run. They were taken out of their game plan of running the ball when they got down 21-0 last week. The Lions are one of the strongest home/road dichotomy teams in the league, averaging nearly 27 points at home and only 21 away. Last week's results for both teams give us value with the home dog.
Lions 27, Packers 21.
I generally dislike laying points on the road, but the Browns are not the team that last year's results make them appear. First off, they only played one team with a winning record in 2007 and snuck up on some people with a new offensive scheme. They have been hit hard by injury already and face a team that they have had little success against. The Steelers are more physical and can run the ball, which the Browns struggle to do. Their offense looks out of synch and the defensive line has not shown that the addition of Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams has mattered much. Last year's results have given the Browns some national TV games, but this will be the only year that happens as they will revert to the under achieving team that they have been. The defense is their achilles heel and the O can not carry them. The Steelers defense is more physical and can control the line of scrimmage against a makeshift offensive line. In the second half, the differences become apparent.
Steelers 31, Browns 17.
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